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Michael Phelps may have won more Olympic medals than anyone else in history, but the American swimmer, who is working for NBC as an in-studio analyst during the 2024 Paris Olympics, is emotionally invested in those very records being broken.
Phelps represents the ultimate standard in the sport of swimming. However, Frenchman Léon Marchand has achieved what even Phelps hasn’t, including winning two Olympic gold medals in the same night.
When Marchand raced in the 200-Meter Butterfly, it initially didn’t look as if he would win, but then he began to gain speed and passed the leader at the very end to steal the gold, and in the process, broke Michael Phelps’ Olympic record. Phelps’ reaction was caught by NBC cameras, and was later showed on their broadcast. It then spread like wildfire all over social media.
Phelps can be seen watching intently alongside NBC Olympic host Mike Tirico. Phelps begins to root for Marchand, as if trying to motivate him through his own physical reactions. He then looks as if he’s setting up to punch someone, only to punch the air in excitement while yelling, “Let’s go!” He raises his fists, punches the air again, goes a little nuts, and all while, Mike Tirico is laughing next to him. Thankfully, it wasn’t the kind of awkward Olympic moment that some people may have come to expect.
Phelps, whose dominance during his career was unmatched, was evidently happy to see someone break his record. He also presented Marchand with the gold medal a couple days before, when Marchand won the 400-Meter Individual Medley and broke another of Phelps’ Olympic records in the process.
The 22-year old Frenchman is not just a swimmer whose golden future might just rival Phelps’ Olympic record of 23 gold medals and 28 overall, he actually has another connection to Phelps. Marchand’s coach for this Olympics is Bob Bowman — Phelps’ long-time coach. Bowman has previously been the coach of Team USA, but is guiding Marchand this year. Michael Phelps is obviously ecstatic to witness a young star rise in the water like he once did, and under the same coach.
Does this mean Phelps is rooting against the red, white, and blue? No, and not just because the French flag is also red, white, and blue. He’s pulling for the USA but also for Marchand, who is likely the only other swimmer — other than America’s own Katie Ledecky, of course — who reminds Phelps of himself.